maidservant

Chapter 12 The Tang family reveals their true colors and the Shangshu Mansion is raided

Yan Yu's voice called out from the inner room. Gan Qing hurriedly wiped away her tears, and Gan Tang quickly gathered his composure. The two exchanged glances, tacitly swallowing the thought that had just occurred.

Gan Qing's arm was still aching slightly, so she pulled her sleeve down to cover the glaring red mark.

"Madam." Qing bowed, his voice a little hoarse.

Yan Yu was putting on her makeup, and the bronze mirror reflected her slightly furrowed brows. "Why are your eyes swollen?"

Gan Qing lowered his head and said nothing. Gan Tang took the comb and combed Yan Yu's hair, but his hands were shaking slightly.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Yan Yu called Gan Tang over.

"What happened?" she asked softly, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade hairpin on the dressing table.

Gan Tang knelt on the ground, his forehead resting on the cold tiles, "Madam." The words came to his lips but he swallowed them back.

"Go ahead," Yan Yu sighed, "In this house, we three have to tell each other everything." The flickering candlelight made her face light up and darken.

Gan Tang gritted his teeth and said, "Son-in-law, I want Gan Qing."

The bronze mirror fell onto the dressing table with a bang. Yan Yu's hand stopped in mid-air, her fingertips trembling slightly.

The next day, she called Gan Qing over to her. Looking at the maid who had been with her for ten years, she choked up and said, "You've been with me for ten years. I know you're not that kind of person."

Gan Qing knelt on the ground, her tears soaking her skirt.

Yan Yu reached out to support her. "It's my husband's fault for what happened today. You should discuss your status with me."

Before he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard outside.

"Master—" Gan Tang's voice stopped abruptly, followed by the dull sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Tang Wenyao kicked the door open. Gan Tang huddled in the yard, clutching her stomach and yelling, "Madam—Gan Qing! Gan Qing!"

Yan Yu stood up and hurried out of the inner room. Seeing Tang Wenyao reeking of alcohol, his gaze lingered on Gan Qing for a moment before turning to Yan Yu. "Why, your Yan family is blocking my career, and I need your permission to add a concubine?"

The bronze mirror on the dressing table reflected Tang Wenyao's ferocious face and Yan Yu's pale face.

After Tang Wenyao finished speaking, he turned around and left the house, and did not return for two days.

The night wind lifted the window screen, knocking on people's hearts again and again.

Yan Yu was stroking the jade bracelet on the couch, while Gan Qing and Gan Tang were sitting under the couch.

"Gan Tang, I remember Ming Yan taught you how to ride a horse. Go back to the Shangshu Mansion tomorrow morning to find out what's going on."

"Yes."

"Gan Qing, your matter will have to wait for Gan Tang to bring back news."

"Madam, I don't want any official status." Gan Qing straightened up and kowtowed deeply to Yan Yu. "After the storm is over, please allow me to leave."

——When the song ends and people disperse, it’s all just a dream; when prosperity fades, it’s all empty.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the sky was tinged with paleness. Gan Tang quietly left the Tang residence, borrowed a horse at the street corner, and rushed to the Shangshu Mansion.

Gan Tang clenched the small change and Miss Yu's letter in her hand, and the saddle hurt her legs.

The borrowed chestnut horse had a fierce temper and shook its head several times, almost throwing her off the saddle.

She bent down, the sound of the whistling wind was in her ears, but the image of Gan Qing curled up in the corner of the ear room last night flashed before her eyes - the mottled bruises under the torn sleeve looked like a withered flower.

The moss on the west corner gate of the Shangshu Mansion had become thicker. When Gan Tang turned over and dismounted from his horse, his embroidered shoes sank into the slippery moss.

The house was eerily quiet; even the usually noisy parrot was silent.

She ran to Yushu Courtyard with her skirt lifted, but saw that the gilded birdcage hanging under the corridor was covered with a white curtain.

"Third Aunt... is dead?" The white banners were rustling in the morning breeze. An ebony coffin was placed in the center of the main hall of Yushu Courtyard.

The maidservant who was keeping vigil sobbed while holding the medicine bowl:

"Third Auntie's health has long been on the decline, but she's been holding on to Miss Yu's wedding. The day before yesterday, when news arrived that the master was being held captive in the palace, she copied seven volumes of the Diamond Sutra overnight, using ink mixed with blood... She couldn't even take medicine in the middle of the night. I had planned to have Fourth Auntie Bingming go and fetch Miss Yu early this morning... But when Fourth Auntie came to see her this morning, she was completely cold..."

There was a buzzing in Gan Tang's head.

She knelt on the mat, sparks suddenly erupted from the brazier, and stared at the gilded jade pillow in front of the coffin, one of which had been buried with Fifth Aunt.

Before she could come to her senses, the sound of chaotic horse hooves suddenly came from outside the door.

"The Lord has been dismissed! The Imperial Guards have arrived at the palace—"

The messenger fell from his horse, his forehead smacking against the stone lion seat in front of the screen wall. Blood flowed through the cracks in the blue bricks and landed at Gan Tang's feet. She recognized the man as Bingming, who often ran errands for his master.

The Fourth Concubine hurried out of the east wing, the silver hairpin in her hair gleaming with a cold light. "Shut his mouth! Lock the doors of every room and courtyard! Tell Young Master Yan Lie to go to Yangzhou immediately!"

But it was too late.

The heavy crowd of soldiers and officers was like a dark cloud covering the city, blocking all escape routes in an instant.

When Gan Tang was pushed and fell into Yan Lie's courtyard, he caught a glimpse of the mud on the toes of the Censorate official's boots. Yan Lie was standing on the stone steps with his arms bound by two soldiers.

"Search by order!"

The moment the decree was announced, officers and soldiers swarmed in like ants. The gilded lock of the warehouse was split open by axes, and the sound of porcelain shattering could be heard one after another.

A little maidservant tried to protect the Fourth Aunt who was being pushed, but was kicked in the chest by a soldier, and the blood she vomited splattered on the gauze on the corridor.

"Don't move! Anyone who dares to cry out today will be sent to the Imperial Music Bureau to be a musician tomorrow!" Yan Lie's voice was icy, fierce yet trembling. "Master Song, where is my father now?!"

Mr. Song from the Censorate raised his hand and saluted towards the Imperial Palace:

"He and the entire Yan family will make their own decisions within the palace. The former Crown Prince has been detained for forcing the emperor to abdicate. Everyone knows that the Yan family and the Eastern Palace are close. ~Hmm? Save your energy and take care of yourself!"

The Fourth Concubine quietly stuffed a stack of banknotes into the hand of the inspector's deputy commander, but the deputy commander grabbed her wrist and said, "Madam, save this trick for the imperial prison."

As dusk fell, the officers and soldiers began to count the female relatives.

Gan Tang was dragged to the corridor of the west wing and heard two Jinyiwei talking in a low voice: "The secret letter found in the secret compartment of Minister Yan's study was stamped with the prince's private seal..."

Suddenly someone grabbed her hair and threw her back into the crowd.

Suddenly, there was a rapid sound of drums outside the courtyard wall, mixed with the shrill screams of wild cats.

The search lasted until midnight. The officers and soldiers turned Yan's mansion upside down and even the ancestral hall was not spared.

"Take Yan Lie away! Keep the rest of them under guard!"

Gan Tang clutched the letter in his sleeve, his nails almost digging into his palm.

After tomorrow, it is still unknown whether she is dead or alive.

A big dream in the world, several times in life is cool.

In just a few days, some officers and soldiers could no longer suppress their evil thoughts and started to tease the maids. Some even stared at the Fourth Concubine with naked eyes.

Even though Gan Tang kept her head down, her beauty was still noticed by others, and someone reached out to touch her.

At this moment, a leader nearby hurriedly spoke up to remind them.

(End of this chapter)